The Lion King: Cub Stories - Book One: The Littlest Cub
by KaltheBrave
Summary: Book one of my collection of stories charting the adventures of the Pridelands cubs. What kind of stuff did they get up to together? There needs to be more TLK cub fun! Starring cubs: Simba, Nala, Chumvi, Tama and Mheetu. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1 - The Plan

**Hello everybody peeps! Okay… so I really enjoyed the cub scenes in TLK, and was saddened not to see more of Simba and Nala's young life. So… after drawing inspiration from various artworks, various comics, and stuff like the 6 New Adventures, I decided I was going to write a collection of short stories charting the adventures of the Pridelands cubs. I tried to keep the tone quite light, not to epic scales or anything like that. I have further plans for this project, should it be well-received… so I'm counting on you guys for lovely reviewsss! **

**I have finished the first book of the series now, and present it for you!**

**Please note: There are no original characters in this story, I have used canon characters from various sources within the Lion King universe. The cub characters, in case you would like to know, are Simba, Nala, Chumvi and Tama. Some characters may not have personality/traits expanded on in their original state of existence, so I use my own for them.**

**(Chapter 1 is a little light on adventure... but, ya know, story's gotta start somewhere! :D)  
**

**Chapter 1 – The Plan**

The sun was high and strong in the sky, baking the savannah lands below. The animals that dwelt on the plains toiled on through the heat  
with their  
various daily activities, the circle of life steadily turning as always.

In the shade of some bushes, four lion cubs dashed around, playing together. Their names were Simba, Nala, Chumvi and Tama. Simba was  
the prince of the Pridelands, next in line to become the king of all the beasts. These cubs had been his friends all his life, and they all spent  
most of their time with each other; exploring, playing games… satisfying their playful, inquisitive cub natures. This particular game, however,  
was growing rather old.

"So… what are the rules again?" questioned Tama, quite exasperated.

"Don't mention _rules_ around Simba, you know how he treats them!" laughed Chumvi, stopping for a second to catch his breath.

"Hey!" snapped Simba, a frown on his face.

Chumvi was a regular troublemaker, never afraid to jape or jest, often inflaming situations, aptly enough for a lion of his reddish brown  
colouration.

"Sorry!" he laughed dismissively, pawing the small tuft of hair on his head.

Everyone had stopped playing now, and shared the same puzzled expression. Everyone, that is, except Simba, who continued bouncing  
around for a few more moments, seemingly oblivious to anybody else.

"Why'd everybody stop?" he whined, when he finally did realise.

"Because it's a _stupid_ game!" Chumvi snorted, with a playful push into Simba. Simba responded in kind.

Nala sat down giggling, watching the two boys scuffle. She was betrothed to Simba, as strange as the idea sounded, making her the future  
queen of the Pridelands. She was a lioness as headstrong as you would expect, and yet was often a voice of reason along with her friend  
Tama.

"Chumvi's kinda right about your game, Simba. It's confusing! How about we do something else?" she suggested.

Simba's ears drooped as Chumvi stuck his nose in the air proudly. This earned him an additional lunging tackle from Simba.

"Like what?" he groaned from the floor.

"Anything that will keep you two from acting like _idiots_!" Tama rebuked. She was easily annoyed by the antics of the two boys, who were  
seemingly always in competition with each other, especially in the presence of Nala.

And so the cubs sat quietly (a rarity in itself) for a short while, boredom consuming them, as they tried to think of something else to entertain  
themselves. Until their musings were abruptly disturbed…

"_Nala_!"

The shout came from an adult lioness, echoing from the impressive stone structure that jutted out of the grasslands – Pride Rock, where the  
lions of the Pridelands lived. "Mheetu is coming down to you. Let him play too."

"Okay…mom… _I guess_…" she called back. The four sighed. Mheetu was the brother of Nala, and was smaller and younger than she and her  
friends. He often, albeit unintentionally, scuppered many a grand plan for fun due to his young age.

"Hi guys!" he beamed as he padded up to them.

"Hey Mheetu."

So now there were five cubs, who sat together with pensive faces and wondered what to do. Well, there were four pensive faces and one  
very smiley face;  
Mheetu was very pleased with himself, to be out playing with the older cubs.

"I got it!" Simba started suddenly, springing up. "We can play lions and zebras?!"

"_Yeah_! And I'll be the quickest, strongest, coolest lion you ever saw!" interjected Chumvi, much to Simba's distain.

"No way! _I'm_ gonna be the best lion, _way_ better than you!"

"Ha! Get real, _your highness_!"

This prompted another tussle between the pair, met by sighs from Nala and Tama. Mheetu was well entertained though, looking on at the  
older boys scrapping, in some kind of awe.

"It'll soon lose its charm, Mheetu." Tama muttered to him dryly.

When a quick truce was settled once more between Simba and Chumvi, they started the new game. A simple chase game with Simba and  
Chumvi playing the part of lions, chasing the other three, who took the role of zebra. Cue lots of charging around, flying fur, screeching and  
larking. But the fun didn't last for long. One typically zealous charge by Chumvi resulted in Nala toppling into Tama, who toppled into Mheetu.  
Poor Mheetu fell to the ground with a big bump, and fighting the tears welling in his eyes, made it quite clear that he didn't want to play the  
game anymore. It was far too rough for him.

"Aw, come on, Mheetu," Chumvi sighed. Mheetu was quite adamant however.

"Aw _man_!" Simba too moaned.

Mheetu felt the urge to cry once more. His sister embraced him.

"Would you two shut up?" scolded Tama. "Look, you're upsetting him."

The boys apologised and they all slumped down again, out of ideas. Until something popped into Simba's head.

"Hey guys," he said, looking suddenly excited. "My dad says that the hares are starting to come out again – but during the _daytime_..."

There were audible gasps among the group. Hares were mostly nocturnal and very rarely seen by any of them.

"Over _there_," continued Simba, motioning to a small crop of trees just across the plain with his paw. "That's where you can find them. We should  
definitely go chase them! We could head over there when the sun comes up tomorrow."

This idea was very agreeable to everyone.

"Yeah," agreed Nala. "It's not very far either, maybe we'll be allowed to go _without_ Zazu!"

The other cubs pulled all manner of strange faces when Zazu's name was mentioned.

"Zazu never shuts his beak!" Simba laughed. "We won't get anywhere near hares with him around!"

"I'm not so sure you two can be quiet for long enough either," Tama added sarcastically. "Maybe a competition to see which one of you can stay  
quiet for longest?" She and Nala giggled.

"That would not be much of a competition at all!"

"Hey!" Simba and Chumvi whined in unison.

"We're lions, ya know! And we lions know how to _sneak_… and _creep_… and _ambush_…"

They crouched down, eyes narrowed, focusing on some invisible quarry - harnessing all of their inherent predatory drives…

The girls rolled their eyes, but Mheetu was once again in wonderment at the macho display.

"Well, we'll see about that tomorrow…" Nala chuckled.

She then heard her name being called again. With a groan she excused herself, with her brother, and they returned home. As she sauntered  
off, those who remained could just about make out her protestations - about it still being so light… and so early… but to no avail.

"And that's what having a kid brother gets you!" snickered Chumvi, rolling onto his back and stretching contentedly.


	2. Chapter 2 - Trapped

**Chapter 2 – Trapped**

"Wow… I've never been quiet for so long before!" whispered Chumvi. "I feel funny." He inspected his  
paws suspiciously.

"Not as funny as you look," Simba grinned.

"_Shhh_!"

The cubs were laid out, peering through a low shrub to the clearing in the crop of acacia trees they  
spoke of the previous day, the place that Simba had pointed out. But there were still no hares. Nor  
any other creature for that matter. Not even a Zazu, although that was a pleasant surprise for all  
concerned.

"This is _so_ boring. Simba, we could be fighting or something!" wailed Chumvi, growing increasingly  
frustrated with the lack of activity. Simba gave him a silencing prod.  
"I'm telling you they come out during the day… My dad's seen them here. He's told me all about them.  
We just have to stay _real _low, and _real_ still."

As more time passed, and the heat of the day began to increase, the patience of the cubs was fast  
wearing out. The prospect of chasing hares around was a rare, delightful one. But it was becoming  
apparent just how _rare_ a prospect it would prove to be. Simba and Chumvi busied themselves playing  
a 'who's got the fastest paw?' kind of game (which at times stretched the very limits of just how 'quiet'  
they actually were), while Nala and Tama were serenely watching a particularly pretty butterfly go about  
its affairs on a nearby flowering bush. Little Mheetu was curled up, fast asleep against his sister, using  
her shadow as shade.

Then from out of nowhere, or more precisely, from out of the sparse vegetation scattered amongst the  
trees, poked the little twitching nose of a brown cape hare. It sniffed the air carefully. The cubs ceased  
their diversions and stayed as still as possible, watching with intent, fighting the instinct to explode into  
pursuit right then and there. The hare still hadn't noticed their presence, and began to edge out further  
into the clearing, away from possible escape routes. The cubs could hardly contain their collective desire  
to hunt the prey, their sinews tightening and limbs twitching feverishly.

"I'm gonna go for it!" Simba whispered suddenly, stepping forward out of the bush with purpose.

He glanced back:

"Watch this, Nala…_oof_!"

Chumvi had already launched himself, jumping off Simba as if he were a springboard, and had begun to  
chase the hare around the clearing. Simba landed a heap on the ground. With a groan he picked himself  
up, shook, and took after Chumvi and the hare, who were flying around the place in a chaotic fashion.  
Simba managed to get alongside Chumvi, who was still right on the hare's trail. They started bumping  
each other and jostling for position, eyes narrowed and small teeth bared, although each was paying as  
much attention to the other as to their prey. The hare suddenly darted to the right, and dived into a large  
burrow at the far end of the clearing, where it quickly made its escape through a minor passage in the earth.  
The two lion cubs were still at full pelt, and as they attempted to slow themselves, their legs clipped, and  
they both fell face first into the burrow, a panting, grunting tangle of fur and limbs.

Nala, Tama and the woken Mheetu arrived at the entrance of the burrow, sniggering. Simba and Chumvi  
gingerly tried to pick themselves up.

"What did you do _that_ for?!" Simba protested, as he tried in vain to find his paws.

"You're on my tail!"

"That's not your tail, that's _my _tail!"

"Wait, how many tails have we even got?!"

"Okay, let's not do that again," panted Simba, as he looked around. "_Wow_. Look at this place."

The burrow was much more spacious than it looked to be outside. The root-covered walls were high enough  
that they could stand up in it and move around comfortably, and there was a long wide tunnel leading off into  
the black distance.

Nala, Tama and Mheetu all climbed into the burrow after them, still chuckling.

"What a hideout!" Chumvi lifted his paws to his mouth. "Echo! _Echo_!"

"It is pretty nice down here, I suppose," admitted Nala.

"Too right, and it's great for getting out of the sun."

Tama sniffed around uneasily. "As long as it's not occupied."

"Well I think it's the _coolest_ place I've ever seen!" Mheetu gasped, spinning around with glee. Unfortunately,  
he tripped up on a loose plant root as he spun, causing some loose dirt to fall down from the roof at the  
entrance.

"_Whoa_, I wonder how safe this burrow is?" asked Nala, noticing the damage. She took a concerning look at  
her little brother. "Maybe we should…"

Before she could finish another great amount of dirt fell at the entrance – it was buckling.

"Everybody get back here!"

The cubs fled deeper into the earth and watched in horror as the opening completely collapsed, closing off the  
outside world.

Chumvi fiddled with his head tuft. "Well that's just great."

"Can't we dig out?" whispered Mheetu, his little voice beginning to crack with fear. He gripped onto Nala more  
tightly.

"I don't think so. It may cave in even more if we start digging."

The five of them shuddered.

"Well, there's only one way we can go now," Simba announced, and started for the tunnel, heading deeper  
underground. The others paused for a moment, and then reluctantly followed, with Mheetu sticking right beside  
his sister. "The brave lion will lead the way…"

"I don't think so!" Chumvi called, and bounded up alongside Simba. The two looked at each other, as if to gauge  
quite how much courage the other actually had, to be marching straight into the unknown.

"Y'know, I had that hare right where I wanted it."

Simba chuckled. "Yeah right, it had you in _knots_!"

Further back, the tone was altogether less cocky.

"I'm frightened, Nala," Mheetu squeaked. His sister gave him a comforting nuzzle.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. There's bound to more than one way out of these things."

Tama nodded her head in agreement.

"Your sister's right. Besides, how could anything go wrong with such _brilliant_ minds leading the way?" she added  
sarcastically, before aiming an indignant snort in their direction.


	3. Chapter 3 - Not Alone

**Chapter 3 – Not Alone**

The cubs continued further into the dark depths, growing more and more anxious with each step they took. As they continued  
deeper into the tunnel, their noses began to twitch at an unfamiliar scent that grew steadily stronger as they proceeded.

"What is that smell?" Chumvi moaned, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

"I… I don't know," replied Simba, straining his nostrils to try and identify the odour.

The other three caught up with them.

"Guys, I'm not sure I like this," Tama said worriedly, she put her paws over Mheetu's ears. "_I think there's another animal in  
here_."

Mheetu shook away from her. "What? What is it?" He peeped up at them, understandably very upset.

"Nothing, Mheetu." Nala soothed. She looked back at the others. "We can only keep going, so… come on! The faster we go,  
the faster we get out of here."

"Some adventure, huh." grumbled Chumvi, as they set off again.

With even more apprehension, the young lions continued down the most alien of paths, in the most alien of surroundings, their  
muzzles burning, and ears twitching in search of danger. The strange smell remained strong. They eventually came to the end  
of the tunnel, which opened out into a more spacious chamber. Across the chamber were three further channels beside each  
other.

"Uh oh!" Simba exclaimed, as he saw the three possible routes.

"What'll we do now?"

Simba looked carefully at the openings.

"I say… hmm… the one to right."

Chumvi smiled. "Okay, and _I'll _take the one to the left, with Nala. Right Nala?" He flashed a wink at her.

"Hey!" Simba gave him a shove.

"Haha!"

"Quiet, you guys!"

Tama had heard something. Something from one of the tunnels, but she wasn't sure which. The cubs all huddled together,  
shivering in the middle of the chamber. Each one of them had their own terrible idea about what was out there, in one of the  
murky passages facing them. They jumped. The sound grew louder, and become clearer – it was a snarling sound. A vicious,  
feral noise that rebounded off the walls and trembled the ground. Mheetu felt tears tracing down his face again. Nala held him  
tighter than ever. Simba started to return the snarl, somewhat pathetically. Chumvi saw what his friend was attempting and  
was quick to do the same. It was clear that the pair's pseudo-bravery would be well tested now.

"What's gonna happen?" whimpered Mheetu to his sister. Nala looked to Tama for an answer, who gave an unsure expression.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered, in wholly unconvincing fashion.

It was then that the heavy air seemed to shift and the scent of threat grew so strong that it made their heads spin with panic.  
The thumping of the ground from the centre tunnel told them that whatever was in there was closing on them fast. Mheetu tried  
to bury his head in his sister's fur.

"Mheetu…" she soothed, her eyes unmoved from the direction of impending jeopardy.

The steps grew louder, effectively drowning the male cubs' pitiable snarls. Thump. _Thump_. Closer and closer the sound grew.

Until, there in the tunnel entrance, was a pair of eyes, shining eerily silver against the black surroundings. Eyes that illuminated  
the face, and the presented fangs, a savage maw streaked in rabid spittle. Its menacing, rattling growl rang in their ears, a  
growl of the most irrational rage, of instinctive animosity. It stepped out of the entrance, its full form now visible – a stocky black  
furred body, of a similar size to the cubs. It had short powerful limbs, set flat on its paws, with elongated claws adorning them.  
It was clearly incensed by their presence there, and much to the cubs added distress, a second beast had arrived and joined its  
partner in the stand-off against the intruders.

"We're… we're sorry… we're lost…" Simba attempted to reason with them… stretching out his paw as if it would keep them away.

"I don't think they want to talk," whispered Chumvi, as he and Simba backed carefully away, sheer terror etched on the faces.

The creatures drew closer, their narrow eyes tearing into the cubs as capably as their cruel claws could. The cubs were retreating  
in a tight huddle, but could only go so far, their backs meeting the walls of the chamber. There was nowhere to run to now.  
Sensing opportunity, the creatures made their move, plunging their combined jaws and claws into the heart of the group. The  
huddle split to the sides, Nala pushing Mheetu away just before the strike was landed. The two attackers butted the walls and lost  
their balance momentarily. The missed tackle caused an ominous rumble around them, and dirt fell around Mheetu, who had come  
to be in one of three tunnels. The attackers bounced back up and turned around to once again charge at the remaining cubs. Simba,  
Nala, Chumvi and Tama this time stood firm, driven to focus by their peril, and snarled in unison, swiping their claws at the air in front  
of them. The aggressors set for another assault, but the cubs were too agile, dodging their attempt once more. The creatures  
thudded into the burrow wall again, prompting an even stronger rumble. Dirt came freely tumbling down from above them, and walls  
shuddered all around. The beasts picked themselves up again quickly and fled down one of the tunnels.

Nala looked around. "Is everybody okay?"

"This does _not_ look good!" gasped Chumvi, as the structure around them proceeded to creak and grumble.

Before they could utter another word, the tunnel entrance that Mheetu sat in collapsed in front of him, blocking him from the others.

"_Mheetu_!" Nala cried, leaping over to the impassable shaft. She started desperately clawing at the earth that blocked the path,  
driven by the weeping of her brother that she could hear on the other side.

All the while, earth poured down the chamber walls.

"Nala, we're gonna get trapped." Chumvi urged, watching the burrow fill up with soil around them.

"I can't leave him here," Nala sobbed, still digging frantically.

The other cubs had to pull her away, dragging her toward the other tunnel.

"_Mheetu_! _Mheetu_!"

They reached the safety of the tunnel just before the entire chamber fell, and there was nothing more than a pile of rubble left before  
them.


	4. Chapter 4 - From Darkness To Light

**I have changed this particular story from 'complete' to 'in progress.' It started off as a bit of a quick throwaway idea just to get back into the groove of writing… this is why I decided to make it a _short_ story and place some restrictions in the way of plot/length/depth and stuff like that. It would only really be used as good practice for dialogue and short action sequences.**

**But, with the help of your kind comments and suggestions (including the love for Mheetu!) I have decided that I may well expand this story, and do it a bit more justice! I will upload the rest of it as is and then set to work changing it. So expect not epic novel proportions just yet! :D**

**Chapter 4 – From Darkness To Light.**

Nala and Tama sat together crestfallen, while Simba and Chumvi were slouched down, looking uncharacteristically forlorn themselves. Not  
only had they been separated from Mheetu, but they were faced with seemingly endless trek through yet another tunnel. Not even the  
innate confidence of Simba and Chumvi could do much to change the general feeling of the group - that they might never find a way out  
after all.

"It'll be alright Nala," Simba said softly, attempting to cheer everybody up. "Mheetu's tunnel stayed strong, just like ours did. All we have  
to do is get out of here and find some help. Then we can come back and get him."

Nala looked up through her tears. "You think he'll be okay?"

"Yeah, Nala, he'll be fine!" Chumvi interjected, jumping in front of Simba.

Tama rubbed her head against her friend affectionately. "He's safe from those… _things_ anyway. They ran off down the other passage, and  
they are blocked off from Mheetu now. Nothing can harm him."

Nala wiped her eyes gently with her paw.

"But what if I stayed behind here, so I'm not far away?"

Tama shook her head. "You can't get to him Nala. This whole place would come down." She said gravely.

Nala began to accept that there was nothing that she could do.

"The important thing now is…" Simba declared, standing up. "…that we get a move on!"

"Simba's right, we don't have any time to waste."

The recognition of what they had to do forced them back onto their weary paws, and they trudged on towards uncertainty again. Every step  
that Nala took, however, stung her with guilt; she was moving further and further away from her helpless little brother.

"Be strong, Mheetu," she whispered.

"Help!" Mheetu continued alone along the tunnel. "_Help_!"

Tears streamed down his face as he intuitively followed the narrowing passageway. For the most part he knew that his cries for aid were  
going unheard, but there was still a slim hope within that his sister would come bounding up from the distance, having found another way  
to him. He'd never in all his young life felt as lonely as he did right now.

Everything felt darker and colder without Nala beside him, and he could here strange low noises emanating from the soil, unearthly noises  
that scared him even more now that he knew of the dwellers of the underground.

Alone and frightened, he soon gave up walking and crumpled to the floor in despair.

Thoughts of his mother and his home filled his head. How he would never see them again, and how stupid he was for wanting to play with  
the bigger cubs. In anger, he kicked against the earth's wall, of which some dirt broke loose, revealing a small crack. A chink of light peeked  
through. Mheetu sprang up and started swiping his little paws urgently at the crack, which slowly widened, allowing more and more light to  
seep through. Mheetu's nose twitched with glee as he savoured the fresh air that spilled inside his underground prison.

Eventually, the crack had become a gap, big enough for him to fit his tiny body through. Clambering through one more tight passageway he  
got closer and closer to the daylight at the surface. One awkward squirm through the hole and he was free… and almost burst with relief.

He didn't know exactly where he was, but as long as he wasn't stuck underground anymore, he didn't really mind. He guessed that he was  
still in the Pridelands, but he'd never been as far out to the borders as this before. He may not know where he was, but he knew he needed  
to get home, and get help for his friends.

After his eyes readjusted to daylight, he looked up to the sky and saw a familiar-looking bird, swooping low, scanning the ground.

"Zazu?" he gasped in disbelief. "_Zazu_!"

The bird caught sight of Mheetu, and glided down to come to earth at the side of him.

"Little one?!" the bird said.

"Zazu, I'm so glad to see you!"

You're Nala's young brother, aren't you?" Zazu asked softly. "What on earth are you doing all the way out here… and where are your friends?!"

Mheetu became emotional upon the mention of the others.

"We… we got stuck in a hole…"he sniffed, his ears dropping flat. "And then… we were attacked… they are still down there! We've got to help  
them!"

"Alright, alright. I understand. But we had better get you home first, little one. You can count yourself lucky that I found you. There's a search  
party out looking for you youngsters right now, I was about to meet up with them."

The cubs were still on the move deeper into the earth, which had grown into a cavernous structure, and increasingly dank and moist. Where  
the walls and ground had been quite dusty and hard before, they were now softer and squelchy under paw, and frustratingly difficult to walk  
through, especially with their morale already as low as it was.

Chumvi attempted to lighten the mood, as only he could.

"_Whoa_, did you see me with those bad guys back there?" he proclaimed suddenly, dipping his body and clawing at several imaginary targets.  
"They were just too slow for me!"

Simba and Tama sighed, distinctly unimpressed. Nala remained with her head bowed, sniffling quietly.

"I think he must have got a bump on the head when we fell…" whispered Simba.

"_Too_ slow and _too_ dumb! Slow, dumb underground rat thingies!" continued Chumvi, unabashed. And then… an apparently brilliant thought  
crossed his mind:

"Maybe I am destined to be the prince's royal protector or something?"

"Oh brother!" Simba laughed.

"What do _you_ think Nala?"

Tama shot a particularly robust glare at the overly excitable Chumvi.

"Sorry…" he stammered. "I was… only trying to make her feel better."

Nala glanced up and smiled weakly at him, causing him to wink roguishly at Simba. Simba, however, wasn't paying attention, he was looking off  
into the distance with keen eyes.

"Does it seem just a little bit brighter in here to you guys?" he asked.

"I dunno, we've been in here so long, I don't think my eyes work anymore!"

"It _is_ lighter, I'm _sure_ of it!"

Indeed, the darkness had lifted somewhat… a dim glow from further down the tunnel cast a strange watery light upon them. This encouragement  
was all the lost cubs needed to break into a hopeful dash, in spite of the tricky terrain. They could sense that an end to this trial was near. And  
they were right. Fresh dusk air filled their lungs as they finally approached the den exit, and as they crossed the threshold back to the surface,  
they couldn't help but yelp in delight.

"We made it!" Simba beamed, barely able to keep himself from laughing with joy.

"Wow, look at how dirty we are," Tama looked down at her begrimed coat.

Chumvi shook himself violently. "_Whew_! Do I need a bath!"

Nala was still quiet. She looked around uncertainly. It was as if they had left the world they knew before behind.

"Where _are_ we?"

**That's chapter 4. Final chapter coming up next. Mheetu's time alone is probably something I'd be looking to expand on should I go for a revision. But yeeeeah. I had a certain idea of how long I wanted the story to be, and I've stuck to it, but as mentioned before, probably at the cost of some things. Thanks for readingggg!**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Way Out (Final Chapter)

**Chapter 5 – The Way Out**

So many trees. The cubs had never seen this many. And shrubs, thick shrubs, carpeting the ground. Greenery  
everywhere, a dense labyrinth of vegetation. All kinds of strange howls, calls and chirrups sounded from the  
heavy canopies.

"_Whoa_!" Chumvi gasped. "What is this place?"

Simba looked up at the mysterious, mist-shrouded treetops in amazement.

"My dad said it's called the _jungle_. He said it's no place for lions."

The other three looked at Simba apprehensively.

"But it looks so cool," Chumvi whined. "Nothing like the Pridelands."

"We don't know anything about this place," Tama added. "It could be dangerous." Her ears picked up as another  
alien noise resonated from the trees.

"We only _need_ to know one thing," mused Nala. "How to get home."

With a casual glance in all directions, Chumvi hummed to himself, as if deep in thought.

"I say we go _this_ way," he finally declared, gesturing.

"Nah," Simba walked up to Chumvi's side. "I say… the opposite way to what he said."

"What? Why?!"

"'Cos the last time we followed you we ended up stuck underground!"

Chumvi launched himself at Simba.

"It was _you_ who tripped me!" he growled, friskily. The fighting pair rolled around in the background as Nala and  
Tama came together and attempted to bring some sense to situation.

"We came out this way," Nala said, pointing in the direction of the tunnel. "So… we should follow it back the way  
we came?"

Tama nodded her head in agreement. "_Over_ ground this time though!"

Calling the battling boys to attention, they started to push through the vegetation in the direction agreed.

"Stay close to each other," Tama warned. "It'll be easy to get split up here."

The bush seemed to grow thicker with every passing moment, and the faint sun that had once managed to peek  
through the foliage had now entirely disappeared. The only light that remained was an eerie blue hue cast by the  
moon.

The little cubs were edgy. From the gloom of the undergrowth a hundred eyes seemed to be fixed on them,  
watching their every move. They themselves could barely make out their own paws in front of them. The scrub  
was taller than them now, and though none of them dared admit it, they were all quite uncertain as to the direction  
they were even going in anymore. The ground was tricky to traverse too; every so often, a cub would momentarily  
disappear down an unseen pit, or fall in a sticky mud pool, or was wrapped up in prickly vines.

On top of this, they were exhausted. They had already walked such a long way, for such a large part of the day, and  
were now faced with this assault course.

"_Oww_!" wailed Chumvi as another vicious thorn ragged on his fur. "How much further?"

He was not alone in his frustration, and it was conceded that respite was desperately needed.

"We should take a break here for a moment."

The shattered cubs fell where they stood, panting and licking their aching paws.

"Mheetu's been alone for so long," Nala said quietly. Her eyes began to tear up again, guilt growing inside her. She  
still felt as though she had done little more than abandon him.

Tama sat up higher on her haunches.

"He's probably safer than we are," she reassured, peering into the darkness suspiciously. "I don't think we should  
stay here too long."

Tama's fears were right – unbeknown to them, they were being tracked. A few minutes earlier, their clumsy movements  
had alerted a hunter. A master of the jungle. A creature from the trees, that sprang down to the earth like a whisper.  
Its green-gold eyes piercing through the shadows as it stalked the four of them. Its pursuit was patient and its  
movements were near invisible.

Unaware of the threat that tailed them, the cubs grudgingly rose to their paws once more and continued. The toil was  
worse than ever, and their pace slowed to a laborious crawl, but they soon found that the plant growth around them  
began to thin out, and became easier to navigate through. The sense that they were reaching the outskirts of the jungle  
would have been a blessed relief had they not been too drained to feel any real kind of enthusiasm. The fact that several  
minutes had passed since Simba and Chumvi had even argued was a testament to just how much of their spirit had been  
sapped.

They eventually did reach a break in the trees, the cold full moon in plain view. The ground had become dustier and less  
clogged with shrubbery, but their route was now blocked – a wall of rock stretched before them. The four gasped at the  
sight of the latest obstacle – it was a rock that looked much to them like the great sandy rocks of the Pridelands, so this  
at least gave them some fleeting hope. There was little other choice for them - it would have to be climbed. They could  
see small ledges and regions that jutted out to climb upon, but it would be no easy feat, especially with them being in  
the state they were.

"I'm not sure I can climb right now," Chumvi complained, licking his bloody, battered paws.

"We _have_ to," urged Simba, in spite of his own doubts.

Nala took initiative and gingerly started her own ascent, awkwardly making purchase on the first few ledges, before missing  
her next mark and falling back down to the earth onto her back.

"_Nala_! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she groaned, catching her wind for a moment.

"This… is impossible!" said Chumvi, pawing away loose rock from the crumbly looking face, searching for a starting point to grip.  
As he looked up, the summit seemed to extend further and further away from him. He took a hard gulp.

"Just think guys," Simba started. "The Pridelands are on the other side of this rock."

His rallying call was going unheeded though – behind him a sinister figure had revealed itself from the undergrowth.

"_Simba_! Behind you!" whispered Nala, frozen in fear.

Simba looked over his shoulder, and nearly jumped clean out of his fur. He sprang over to the others. There in front of them,  
the lissom shadow stepped stealthily into the pale moonlight, its rosette painted fur bristled and limbs taut and muscled.

"It's a… _leopard_!" Tama mouthed, sound barely escaping her.

The leopard took two more floating steps closer and revealed her glistening maw, her lips retracting to show the cornered  
cubs the full menace of her jaws. She released a guttural snarl that cut through the night air and whip cracked around their  
ears. The cubs clustered closer together, shivering and terrified, unable to evade or flee this time.

Dipping her shoulders, and with her gaze unwavering, the hunter coiled her powerful limbs, ready for the fatal surge towards  
her victims.

She took off, flying through the night, soundless and forceful, leading with her vicious fangs and extended claws. The cubs closed  
their eyes, waiting for the blow to come.

Sounding a pained growl, the leopard was intercepted in mid-flight, and knocked to the ground with a thud. The cubs dared to peek  
through their eyelids.

"_Mom_!" Simba screamed, overjoyed.

There indeed his mother, Sarabi, stood. The powerfully-built royal lioness shielded the cubs, facing the downed leopardess. She let  
out a threatening scowl.

"You _dare_ touch them!"

The fallen leopard uneasily regained her footing, and with a malevolent sneer, thought better of challenging the much larger foe, and  
instead skulked back off into the depths of her jungle dwelling, favouring an injured leg.

Mufasa, Sarabi's mate and the king of the Pridelands, soon arrived behind her.

"Come on, let's get them home," she said gently to him, having regained her usual calm.

The spent youngsters were carried back to Pride Rock, tattered and bloody, finally at the end of their perilous journey.

Nala awoke with a start. Much to her surprise, she was home. She stretched out for a moment, before a terrible fear entered her mind.

"Oh _no_! I fell asleep!" she cried to herself. "_Mheetu_!"

What had she done?! She had not told anyone about Mheetu… and he was still down there, all alone… and it had been a whole day!  
She began to well up, raising herself and sprinting out of the cave and into the sunshine.

"Hi sis!"

Sat in front of her at the entrance, with a big grin on his face, was her little brother Mheetu. Nala had never felt so glad to see anyone  
in her life. She raced up to him and squeezed him warmly.

"I found a way out!" he declared with pride.

The size of her brother's heroism dawned on Nala.

"_You_ got help for _us_?!"

"Uh-huh!" her brother nodded. "All by myself!"

Nala laughed, her heart full with joy and relief. She was back safely at home with her little brother in her embrace. A darker thought began  
to grow though...

"I guess I'm in a lot of trouble, huh?" she muttered.

Mheetu laughed softly.

"For what?"

"I got you into all sorts of danger… and then… I left you all alone."

He chuckled again.

"It wasn't _your_ fault, sis. It's not _your_ fault we got trapped and had to find a way out. And it isn't _your_ fault that we were attacked and I got  
stuck by myself." He leaned in closer to whisper. "I think it was that silly hare's fault!"

The two shared a giggle, feeling closer and happier than ever before. Nala swelled with pride to have such a brave young cub as her brother,  
and savoured this moment with him.

"Everyone else is outside," Mheetu smiled. "If you want to play?"

"Sure thing, Mheetu," Nala answered, and they walked out together to meet their friends once again.

**So there we have it, hooray! I love a mushy ending. A Mheetu mushy ending. :D The first thing I have written in many years, so nice to have some motivation back! This was a fun little story to write, and made so worthwhile by your lovely comments. So thank you muchly for those.**

**I am unsure as to whether to give this particular story another going over, or move on to book two... the original idea was to write three books of this kind of length/style. I have future plans for it though. Would love to comic-ize it! Any ideas you may have, I am all ears! Any cubs you really like that weren't included, for example? **

**But maybe a little break first either way - I have in fact now got a lot of reading to be getting on with! :D**

**PS: Wouldn't it have been cool if they had released a little animated series about the cubs' adventures? I think it would have, it was in fact that very thought that inspired me to write this!**

**Many thanks again though, **

**Kal! :D**


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